Buried Alive
by sparkle7311
Summary: Based on a real event that occurred on July 15, 1976 in Chowchilla, California when 26 children and their bus driver were kidnapped and held for ransom. Beta read by Brandicoot26.
1. Chapter 1

**BURIED ALIVE**

**A/N: Based on a real event that occurred on July 15, 1976 in Chowchilla,****California when 26 children and their bus driver were kidnapped and held for ransom. Beta read by Brandicoot26.**

**CHAPTER ONE**

"Come on, Starsk," Hutch cajoled his reluctant partner. "You'll see. It'll be great. It's just for the weekend."

"Fine," Starsky whined. "Then you can go have a good time. You know I don't like camping."

"I'm already going, mush brain," Hutch reminded him, smiling indulgently. "But, we still need one more chaperone."

"So, naturally, you just had to volunteer me without even bothering to ask me first." Starsky sighed dramatically and looked at his partner with a dejected expression. He knew that he would give in. He always did when Hutch wanted him to do something, even if it was something he didn't want to do.

"Come on, buddy," Hutch coaxed. "Do it for the kids."

Hutch had been a big brother for almost three years to an Hispanic youth named Kiko, and this weekend, the local chapter of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters association was having a retreat for the children they served. Hutch had been talking about it for weeks. Kiko and his adopted sister, Molly, were both going.

At the last minute, one of the other chaperones that had been scheduled to go on the trip had been forced to cancel, and Hutch had immediately volunteered Starsky to take his place.

"Yeah…but why does it have to be a camping trip?" Starsky said glumly. "Why couldn't they just take them to Disneyland or something?"

Hutch chuckled. His partner was a big kid himself sometimes, and Disneyland would be more his idea of a good time than a camping trip. Starsky was a city boy and anything out of his element made him uncomfortable. But, despite his complaining, Hutch knew that Starsky would have a good time once they got to the camp grounds

"Come on, pal…what do ya say?" Hutch said.

"Okay, okay. But, if I get ate by a bear, it's gonna be all your fault."

Hutch smiled fondly. "You're not going to get 'ate' by a bear. Maybe just nibbled on by a hungry raccoon." He ignored the dirty look Starsky gave him as he walked into the kitchen to get them both a beer.

Returning with two cans, he handed one to his partner and sank down on the sofa beside him. "You better get to bed early tonight," he suggested. "We have to be out of here by six-thirty in the morning. The buses are leaving at seven."

"Geez, why couldn't they wait a couple of hours?" Starsky asked, taking a long swallow of his beer. "It's not like the camp grounds are gonna go anywhere."

"Because it's almost a three hour drive from here, and we have to be there before eleven." Hutch explained patiently. Starsky was not a morning person and he tended to sleep in on his days off. "My stuff is already in the car. Why don't I just crash here tonight?"

"Suit yourself." Starsky said, finishing his beer and setting the can on the coffee table. "How about a pizza? I'm starved."

"As long as you leave the kitchen sink off my half," Hutch told him. Their dietary habits were just another one of the differences between the two friends. While Hutch tried to eat a nutritious and healthy diet, Starsky craved junk food loaded with empty calories and carbohydrates.

Starsky nodded and shoved himself to his feet to call in their order.

When their food arrived, they finished it and the six-pack in Starsky's refrigerator while watching a movie on television.

Hutch was awake at five-thirty the next morning. He took a short jog around the block before returning to Starsky's apartment to wake up his partner.

Starsky was buried in his blankets, nothing showing except his thick curls. Hutch raised the blind, flooding the room with early morning sunlight.

"Come on, Starsk," he said cheerfully. "Time to get up."

Starsky mumbled something unintelligible and burrowed further under the covers. Hutch grabbed the covers and gave them a yank, pulling them off the slumbering brunet.

"Hey!" Starsky yelped, making a futile grab for the blankets.

Hutch grinned and stepped back, holding the royal blue comforter just out of his reach. "Get your ass out of bed and hit the shower," he ordered, dumping the blanket on the floor beside Starsky's dresser. "If you hurry up, we'll have time to grab something to eat before we leave."

Muttering under his breath, Starsky reluctantly climbed out of bed and padded towards the adjoining bathroom.

Hutch grinned as he headed towards the kitchen to put on some coffee. A creature of habit, Starsky wouldn't be able to face the day without a strong cup of coffee first.

Half an hour later, the two men were on their way to the Big Brother/Big Sisters office where they would be meeting up with the rest of the group going on the trip. Besides Starsky and Hutch, there would be two other adults chaperoning the sixteen children that were going on the retreat. Both were staff members of the organization and would be driving the two mini buses that would transport the group to the camp grounds.

When they arrived at the parking lot behind the building where the agency had its offices, they were greeted enthusiastically by Kiko and Molly. At fifteen, Kiko was one of the oldest boys going on the trip. His adopted sister, Molly, was fourteen and one of the older girls. The rest of the children ranged in age from six to fourteen. The group was split up, with 8 adolescents and 2 adults to each bus. Hutch and Molly would be on one bus, while Starsky and Kiko were on the other one.

The staff member in charge, a pretty, long-legged blonde, introduced herself as Linda Page. She identified a second staff member, as Charlie Hodge. He was an older man with a heavily lined face, gray hair and a heavy frame. He would be driving one of the buses while Linda drove the other. She reminded the teenagers and younger children of the rules they were expected to follow during the ride to the camp grounds and stressed the importance of obeying the adults in charge. Although Kiko, Molly and the two staff members knew that Starsky and Hutch were police officers, the other children did not. After she had finished her instructions, Starsky and Hutch ushered the children under their care onto the proper bus.

Starsky felt a twinge of envy as he settled down in a seat four rows behind the driver. He knew that Hutch would be taking advantage of the situation and flirting with the pretty blonde driving the lead vehicle. He sighed heavily as the buses pulled off the lot and merged into the flow of early morning traffic.

"Hey, Starsk," said Kiko, who was sitting in the seat behind him. "How did Hutch talk you into going along? I thought you hated camping." The Hispanic youth smiled mischievously as he waited for the brunet's answer. "After that last camping trip you took with Hutch, you swore you'd never go camping again."

"Hutch volunteered me and then told me about it afterwards," Starsky told him with a crooked smile. "He made it kinda hard to say no."

Kiko chuckled. "This is supposed to be a nice place. I know a guy who went last year, and he said that they have cabins and everything."

"If Hutch had his way, we'd be sleeping on the ground," Starsky grumbled. But, his spirits were lifted by the thought that he would be sleeping in a cabin and not outside in a tent. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The children and teenagers found ways to entertain themselves on the long drive to the camp site. The younger children giggled and shared secrets or played simple games, while the teenagers either read or talked quietly among themselves. After a while, a few of them dozed off, lulled by the movement of the bus.

Heavy traffic in the city and a train on a rural crossing outside the city limits eventually separated the two buses. Starsky estimated that Hutch's bus had at least a twenty minute lead on the one he was in. Charlie casually mentioned that it wasn't uncommon for buses to get separated on long drives.

Starsky's stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten for at least two hours. He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a Snickers bar that he had put there on the way out that morning. Tearing open the wrapper, he took a big bite.

Chewing contentedly on the candy bar, he watched the road ahead unfolding through the front window of the bus. Up ahead there was a battered and mud-streaked gray van parked alongside the road. As they drew closer, Starsky could see a young man with a tall, thin frame and straw colored hair standing beside the van waving his arms in distress. Starsky sat up a little straighter when he noticed that the license plate number was obscured by mud.

"Looks like he could use a hand," Charlie noted as he braked the bus and pulled to a stop behind the van.

Even as Starsky leaned forward to tell Charlie to keep driving, from the corner of his eye he saw a second man appear at the rear bumper from the far side of the van. Two things caught Starsky's attention as the man approached the bus: the gun in the man's hand and the nylon stocking pulled over his face distorting his features.

The gunman gestured for Charlie to open the door. Charlie obeyed immediately, shooting Starsky a worried look through the rear view mirror. Starsky shook his head slightly, silently warning him not to try and be a hero.

The gunman quickly mounted the steps. Pointing his weapon at Charlie, he barked "Get to the back of the bus!"

The children on the bus reacted differently to the scene playing out in front of them. Some of the younger children thought it was a prank and giggled, while others began to cry in fear. As the driver moved down the aisle toward the back of the bus, a second stocking-faced man appeared and jumped on the bus. The first gunman slid into the driver's seat while the second gunman kept a wary eye on the passengers. The third man who had flagged them down had gotten back into the van and started the engine.

Starsky carefully slipped his hand behind his back and slipped the leather case that held his ID and his badge out of his pocket. This would not be a good time for the intruders to find out that he was a cop. Unfortunately, he was unarmed. He had left his gun at home because he had been anticipating accompanying a bunch of kids on a weekend camping trip, not facing down two armed assailants. Slowly, he slid the leather case into the crease between the cushions and sent out a silent plea that their captors wouldn't find it.

"Starsky, what's happening?" Kiko whispered quietly.

"I'm not sure yet," Starsky told him. "Just keep still and do what they say."

"I'm scared."

"I know. So am I."

"Everybody just shut up and do what you're told and nobody will get hurt!" growled the second gunman, who appeared to be in charge. He grabbed the metal pole behind the driver's seat with one hand to keep his balance as the bus moved forward following the van.

Two miles down the road, the van turned onto a rutted dirt road that disappeared into a line of trees that bordered the highway. The bus turned also, rocking from side to side as it followed the van. They hadn't gone far, when the driver abruptly stopped the bus and the van backed up to the side door at the front of the vehicle. The man driving the bus opened the door to the bus while the van's driver opened his vehicle's rear doors.

Suddenly, the man who had been driving the bus stood up, spun around, took aim and shot Charlie in the head. Several of the girls on board screamed, and some of the younger children began crying out for their mothers. An unfortunate teenage girl who had been sitting in the seat in front of Charlie was splattered with blood and pieces of brain matter. She screamed hysterically as she frantically brushed at the gore on her arms and the right side of her face.

"As long as everyone listens and doesn't cause us any trouble, none of you will end up like him," The gunman said in a dangerously calm voice. "Now everyone shut the fuck up and get on the van." He waved his gun at Starsky. "You first, Curly."

Starsky slowly rose to his feet and walked down the aisle. Even though the gunman's features were distorted by their masks, Starsky was able to judge their approximate height and weight. He could also tell that they were both white and in their late teens or early twenties. In his mind he dubbed them Dumbass one and Dumbass two, which made the third man Dumbass three.

Starsky stepped down from the bus to the interior of the van. All the windows in the back of the van had been covered over and a blanket hung behind the front seat making the inside of the van dark and stuffy. One by the one, the children were ushered onto the van. Kiko immediately found his way to Starsky's side. When the van was full, the back doors were shut and locked from the outside.

Starsky heard the door on the passenger's side open, and there was a slight shifting as the two gunmen joined their partner in the front of the van. The door slammed shut, and the van took off with a sudden jerk.

In the confines of the dark, almost airless van, it was easy to lose track of time. Some of the children dozed off, while others continued to sob softly in the darkness. Kiko leaned against Starsky for comfort and security in a silent reminder that he was still a child and not an adult.

"Where do you think they're taking us?" Kiko asked, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't be overheard. Beneath the brave front, Starsky could hear the voice of a badly frightened adolescent who needed to be assured that everything was going to be all right.

"I don't know." Starsky replied. "Probably somewhere they think is safe until they get whatever it is they want."

"You mean money?"

"Probably."

"But, why us?"

"I don't know. Maybe they think they can get the city to pay some sort of ransom."

"Do you think Hutch is looking for us yet?"

"If he isn't, he soon will be." Starsky smiled in the darkness at the thought of his bloodhound of a partner on their trail. He had no doubt that Hutch would find them eventually. What worried Starsky was what their captors had in mind for them until then.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The bus carrying Hutch and Molly arrived at the camp grounds shortly after eleven. As they climbed off the bus, Linda instructed the children to follow the path on their left which led to the dining hall where a hot meal was waiting. Walking side by side, Hutch and Linda trailed along behind the chattering adolescents.

"Charlie and your friend should be pulling in soon." Linda said as they walked along the pleasant, tree-shaded path. "I don't think they were that far behind us."

"I'd say about twenty minutes if they got stuck at that railroad crossing," Hutch replied as he casually dropped his hand so it rested in the small of Linda's back. It had been a pleasant ride to the camp. Hutch had been pleased to discover that he shared several interests with the pretty blonde. She also played the guitar, tried to eat sensibly and jogged on a regular basis. And, like Hutch, she wasn't interested in a serious relationship at the moment.

They sat together in the dining hall apart from their giggling charges. The food was good, but a little bland for Hutch's taste. As he ate, part of him kept looking for his missing partner. As the minutes passed without the arrival of the second bus, his anxiety began to rise.

Finally, he pushed the remainder of his meal aside and voiced his concern. "Don't you think they should have been here by now?"

"I was just thinking the same thing myself," Linda told him as she stood up. "I'm going to the office and make a couple of phone calls. I'll be right back,"

As she walked away, Molly slid into her empty seat and looked at Hutch with a worried frown on her face. "Where are Starsky and Kiko? Shouldn't they be here by now?"

"They should be. Miss Page went to make some calls. I'm sure they just had a flat tire or something. They shouldn't be much longer."

"You seem to be hitting it off with Linda," Molly noted with a mischievous grin. "She's pretty cool."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Hutch admitted, grinning broadly. A true child of the streets, Molly could be brash and outspoken. She was used to speaking her mind to adults.

"So, you gonna ask her out?"

"That, young lady, is none of your business," Hutch told her in a mockingly stern tone. His eyes sparked playfully as he added, "But, yes…I think I will."

"Do you think Kiko and Uncle Dave are okay?" Molly changed the subject abruptly.

"I'm sure they are." Hutch looked across the room and saw Linda approaching their table. The worried look on her face told him immediately that whatever she had found out hadn't relieved her concern.

"Nobody's heard from them, and the State Police said they haven't had any reports of an accident or anyone with car trouble fitting their description."

"So, what now?" Molly demanded anxiously.

"We'll wait a little bit longer, and if they still don't show up, I'll call the State Police again, and we'll report them missing."

Hutch nodded in agreement and did his best to tamp down his growing concern. Starsky had an uncanny knack for finding trouble, even on a simple outing like this. Hutch hoped that he was worrying needlessly.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

It was hard to judge any distance or passage of time in the back of the darkened van, and they seemed to have been on the road forever. Some of the children dozed off, others complained of hunger and thirst, and a few of them had voided themselves. Starsky had closed his eyes, but every one of his senses was still on high alert, and his eyes flew open when the van came to a sudden stop.

Now that the vehicle was no longer moving, restless children began to stir, wondering what was going to happen next. With a loud squeal of metal, the back door opened. Dusk was falling but Starsky could make out the silhouettes of the three men standing at the rear of the van.

"YOU! CURLY!" Yelled the voice of the man Starsky had dubbed dumbass two. "Get out here!"

Starsky slowly rose to his feet and walked to the doors at the back of the van. He stepped down and faced his three captors quietly. He couldn't see where he was, but the landscape appeared to be barren and covered with patches of overgrown weeds.

"Give me your wallet!"

Starsky pulled his worn leather wallet from his back pocket and handed it to the man who appeared to be in charge. The man opened it and pulled out Starsky's driver's license.

Peering at the license in his hand, he squinted in the rapidly fading light as he read aloud. "David Starsky, age 29, 2000 Ridgeway Avenue, Bay City." Starsky noticed that one of the other men was writing the information down on a pad he held in his hand. The first man handed him Starsky's license then slipped the wallet into his own jacket pocket.

"Take off your pants and your shoes. Socks too."

Starsky frowned at the order to partially undress but reluctantly complied. He toed off his blue Adidas running shoes, unfastened his belt, pushed down his skin tight jeans, and kicked them loose from his feet. He stood there, nude from the waist down except for a pair of skimpy black bikini briefs.

"Over there…down the ladder."

A short distance away, Starsky saw what appeared to be one end of a ladder sticking up out of a hole in the ground. He did as he was instructed and climbed down into some sort of large underground structure. In the dim light provided by battery-powered lanterns, Starsky stepped off the ladder and took stock of his surroundings.

The walls were metal, and he recognized his surroundings as the interior of a semi-tractor trailer. Several old mattresses were placed haphazardly on the floor, and two large plastic buckets at the far end of the structure were no doubt there to act as primitive toilets. Small air vents were built into the roof, but they did little to lessen the claustrophobic, suffocating feeling inside their new prison.

Stacked along the wall to Starsky's left were boxes of crackers, packages of cookies, several jars of peanut butter and ten plastic jugs that he presumed contained water. At least it appeared that their captors didn't mean for them to go without necessary supplies.

One by one the children were sent down the ladder. The oldest ones descended first and immediately took over the care of the younger ones as they arrived, comforting them and calming them as best they could. Kiko stationed himself at Starsky's side.

A grinding noise overhead made them both look up. They watched as the ladder was pulled up out of the hole and a large metal covering was slid over the opening, sealing them inside the trailer.

"What now?" Kiko said in frustration

"Now…we wait." Starsky told him. "There's not much else we can do."

Two of the older girls began passing out cookies and water. One of Kiko's basketball buddies brought around crackers and water, but he and Starsky both took only a drink of water and left the food for the children to share.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When another hour went by without the arrival of the missing bus, Linda immediately placed a call to the State Police and reported the bus as missing. It was another twenty minutes before two officers arrived to take statements from both Linda and Hutch.

The senior officer, who identified himself as Sergeant Griffith, was man in his fifties with neatly trimmed, graying brown hair and a weather beaten face. He asked the questions while his partner, a younger man in his twenties with slightly longer brown hair, inquisitive blue eyes and the face of an officer relatively new to his post, wrote down their answers on a small notepad.

"And your partner was on the other bus?" Griffith asked for the second time.

"Yes," Hutch said in a frustrated tone. "I already told you that."

"And you're both detectives back in Bay City?"

"Again, that's right." Hutch bit back a sharp retort to the repetitive questions and said, "So, what are you going to do to find them?"

"We'll organize a search party. We've got a list of local volunteers who help out in situations like this."

"I want to be included in that."

"There's really no need for that, Officer Hutchinson…"

"It's Detective Hutchinson," Hutch corrected him pointedly "And my partner and I have both had training in search and rescue."

The determination in Hutch's voice and his steely blue gaze convinced the older officer that he would be wise to back down.

"Very well, _Detective _Hutchinson," he said gruffly. "I'll make sure that you're included in the search party." He obviously resented Hutch's interference in what he considered his jurisdiction, but he was professional enough not to push his luck with the agitated blond.

Hutch gave a curt nod. Guilt was rapidly welling in his gut. It was his duty and responsibility to watch his partner's back, and he had failed from the get-go. Starsky wouldn't be in this predicament if he hadn't been talked into coming on the trip, and Hutch wasn't about to trust his well-being to a bunch of strangers.

By the time the volunteers had all been notified and had arrived at the camp site, it was late afternoon, and Hutch knew that they would only have a few hours of daylight left to search.

Finally, they all climbed into a van supplied by one of the volunteers and began to back-track the route that the buses had been using to get to the camp grounds. Meanwhile, the sheriff's helicopter was doing an air search in hopes of seeing something that would help the searchers on the ground.

They were approximately thirty miles from the camp when the helicopter pilot radioed the driver of the van and told him that he had spotted something suspicious in a wooded area three miles from their current location. Following his directions, the van turned onto a rutted dirt road that led into the woods. The ground was too dry and hard for any of the searchers to be able to tell if another vehicle had recently been that way.

About two miles back the dirt road, the van stopped and the men climbed out. They saw the patched tarp that was covering something, something large and box shaped. Within a few minutes, they had uncovered the missing bus.

"You men stay out here!" Sergeant Griffith ordered.

"I'm coming with you." Hutch's tone made it clear he wasn't taking no for an answer. Griffith nodded curtly and cautiously pulled his gun as he used one hand to pull open the partially closed doors. As they stepped on the bus, they caught the familiar whiff of blood and death. Hutch's heart began pounding frantically as they walked down the aisle towards a still figure lying on the floor of bus.

When Sergeant Griffith reached down and turned the body over, both men grimaced but Hutch also breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the damage done to the man's face, he knew it wasn't Starsky.

"It's the bus driver."

Griffith nodded and didn't question Hutch's identification of the dead man. Glancing around, they both were relieved to note that there weren't any other signs of violence inside the bus.

"You men look around out there and see what you can find," Griffith yelled to the rest of the searchers. He glanced at Hutch as he added, "Detective Hutchinson and I will search in here."

Hutch smiled politely, his gratitude showing on his face.

It didn't take Hutch long to find Starsky's badge and ID stuffed between the cushions of a seat four row behind the driver. At least the hijackers hadn't identified his partner as a cop. Starsky was street smart and could think fast on his feet, but that did little to ease Hutch's concern and fear for his best friend. He knew that Starsky would sacrifice his own life to protect the children under his care.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Starsky leaned back against the wall and glanced around. Some of the children had settled down for a nap, while others were simply sitting in silence. Starsky appeared to be relaxed, but his mind was racing as he tried to figure out how to get himself and the children out of this mess and to safety. The only way out of the trailer was the way they had come in, and that was at least ten feet above them. The air vents were too little, even for the smallest child, to crawl through. And, besides, Starsky would never endanger a child by sending them for help.

He straightened up as an idea suddenly occurred to him.

'Kiko, get some of your friends to help."

Kiko, who had been crouching next to the brunet jumped to his feet, eager to help in any way he could. "What do you want us to do?"

"If we stack these mattresses on top of each other, we might be able to reach that opening."

"Oh…I get it. Hey guys, come here a minute!"

The two oldest boys on the trip and four boys Kiko's age immediately joined him and listened as Starsky swiftly outlined his plan. They set to work pulling the mattresses into place and piling them on top of one another directly beneath the opening to their prison.

Ten minutes later, eight mattresses were stacked on top of one another, forming a makeshift platform that almost reached the ceiling. One of the older boys used his hands as a foothold so Starsky could boost himself to the top mattress. By sitting on his knees, Starsky was able to examine the roughly cut opening in the ceiling.

The opening was covered by what appeared to be a heavy piece of sheet metal. Starsky tried moving it with his hands but, despite his best efforts, it wouldn't budge. Obviously there was something else holding it in place.

As he slid down to the floor, Kiko looked at him with worried eyes. "Are you okay? Your hands are bleeding."

Starsky looked down at the palms of his hands. He was surprised to see the cuts he had gotten from the rough edges of the opening. He hadn't even noticed the pain, but now that the injuries had been called to his attention, he felt the stinging burn.

"Here," Kiko said as he grabbed a jug of water. "Let me wash them off."

Starsky hid a smile. Kiko sounded just like Hutch when he got into his mother hen mode. He shook his head slightly. "Naw…I'm fine. We need something to get under whatever it is that's covering that opening."

"At least let me wrap something around them so they don't get infected." Kiko took off his T-shirt, tore two long strips off the bottom and then tossed it aside. He used the make-shift bandages to wrap Starsky's hands. Starsky smiled at him when he finished. The teenager had done a good job. Obviously Hutch had taught him some basic first aide.

"We need something heavy enough to pry with." Starsky, Kiko and the other boys began looking around the trailer.

After a few minutes, one of the older boys yelled out. "Hey! Will this work?"

Starsky examined the piece of wood in the boy's hand. It was approximately a foot long and two inches wide. One end was jagged where it had broken off from something bigger.

"It might. Let's give it a try."

"You take a break and let me try," Kiko said. He took the piece of wood out of Starsky's hand and scrambled up the stack of mattresses before the brunet could object.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hutch paced the room impatiently. The other men stayed their distance from the obviously agitated blond. Sergeant Griffith was the only one with enough balls to try and reason with him.

'We have to wait until morning! We can't see anything in the dark. We could miss something important."

"And my partner and those kids could be dead by morning!" Hutch growled. "We don't know what happened to them!"

"What else do you want us to do? We're not a big operation like the L.A.P.D. Our resources are more limited. We have to make due with what we have available."

"Then I'll keep looking for them by myself!"

"I can't let you do that. You don't know the terrain. We can't afford to waste time looking for you too, if you get lost."

"I won't get lost. I know how to mark a trail."

"I still can't let you do it. So just calm down and rejoin the others until morning. We'll head out as soon as it's light. I promise." He gave Hutch a warning glare. "Do I have to lock you up to make sure you stay put?'

Hutch grudgingly accepted defeat. "First sign of daylight and I'm outta here." He held up a finger to emphasis his point, then turned on his heel and walked away.

Griffith breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He knew he may have won this round, but he would have to keep a close eye on the big city detective

Molly grabbed Hutch's arm as he sat down at the table next to her. In a strained voice she said, "Why are they stopping? Why don't they keep looking?"

"Because they don't have the man power or the resources to do a search at night," Hutch explained. "We're heading out again at first light."

"Do you think they're okay?" She tried to keep the fear out of her voice, but Hutch heard it anyway.

"Starsky will take good care of them." He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring hug. "I need to talk to Miss Page. I'll be right back." He gave Molly's hand a quick squeeze as he stood up and walked across the room to join the female staff member for a private conversation.

Linda's face was strained, but she was holding on to her composure. "I just talked to Charlie's wife.'

"How's she doing?"

"Pretty much the way you'd expect a woman who just found out that her husband of twenty some years has been murdered." Her voice caught and tears glistened in her eyes. "They never had any kids…all they had was each other. I don't know how she's going to get through this."

"Sometimes people are stronger than you think."

Hutch had seen too much tragedy, too much death, too much senseless violence in his career. Too many lives destroyed for no good reason. His idealism had faded long ago, and he had grown cynical over the years. But his compassion for the innocent victims and their suffering had remained unwavering.

Molly was a perfect example of that compassion. Hutch had met her when her father was murdered by two thugs he had been involved with before he went to prison. Thanks to Hutch's intervention, Molly had been able to live with Kiko and his mother instead of being placed somewhere else.

"Do you think they're still alive?"

"Yeah, I can't see someone setting something like this up just to kill their hostages…not while they still need them."

"You think they're after money."

"That's usually the motive for something like this."

"Then why haven't we heard anything? Maybe something went wrong."

"You can't think that way. You have to stay positive. It's still early. They could still call with their demands."

"But who do they expect to pay? Big Brothers/Big Sisters is a non-profit organization. Everybody knows that."

"Probably the city. That's why they went after a bunch of kids. The city can't refuse to pay ransom for a bunch of innocent kids…even inner city kids."

"What if they find out that your partner's a cop?"

Hutch sighed deeply and looked away. "They haven't yet. Starsky managed to hide his badge and ID on the bus."

"Why'd they have to kill Charlie? He wouldn't try to resist. He'd never do anything to put the children in any danger."

"Probably to make a point. To make sure that nobody tried to resist."

Their conversation was interrupted by a uniformed officer's approach.

"Sarge wants to see you right away," He told Hutch. "There's been a phone call to the Mayor."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"A hundred thousand dollars?" Linda repeated quietly.

"That's what they told the mayor." Griffith said gruffly. "A hundred thousand dollars by noon tomorrow and they'll tell us where to find the kids."

"How do we know they really have the kids?" Hutch demanded

"They read the mayor a list of names, addresses and ages that all match up with the kids who were on the bus." He glanced at Hutch, anticipating his next question. "They had your partner's information too. And they described him from his driver's license photo."

"What about the phone call? Were they on the line long enough to get a trace?"

"No…but they're pretty sure the caller was young, probably in his late teens or early twenties."

"If they're that young, then they're amateurs, they had to have made some mistakes," Hutch said as he began to pace the room, talking aloud as he gathered his thoughts. "That means they could get careless…and that they'll be dangerous if they are cornered." Hutch turned to face the other man. "I want a list of all the known juvenile offenders in the area. To pull something like this off, there would have to be at least three perps, maybe more and I'd be willing to bet that at least one of them has a record. And they're either good friends or they're related in some way, maybe both."

"And at least one of them is a murderer," Griffith growled as he reached for the phone to gather the information that Hutch had requested.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Starsky gulped down some of the lukewarm water, then leaned his head back against the wall wearily. For two hours, Starsky and the three older boys, including Kiko, had been working at trying to move the sheet of metal covering their escape route.

Starsky's hands were cut and bruised, but he refused to quit. They had managed to move the covering enough to see a sliver of moonlight, and he was determined to move it enough to free them from their captivity. The wooden stake had broken, but the opening was wide enough to use fingers to try and pry at it. There seemed to be something on top of it holding it in place, something heavy and awkward.

Kiko crouched down beside Starsky. His face was covered with sweat and his hands were as cut and bruised as Starsky's.

"I can get my hand through the opening, but I can't reach whatever's holding it down."

"Take a break while I try again," Starsky told him as he shoved himself to his feet. He scrambled back to the top of the mattresses and examined the opening between the metal covering and the roughly cut hole in the ceiling of the trailer. Kiko was right, they had moved the lid approximately 6 inches, not enough to escape but wide enough to squeeze a hand through.

Starsky edged his hand through the opening and felt around with his fingers. His fingertips touched something rough and hard. Feeling blindly, he thought that it felt like a large concrete block, maybe more then one. If they could get them to move, they might be able to escape from their prison.

Pulling his hand back through the opening, Starsky repositioned himself so that he was crouching beneath the metal sheet with his back pressing against it from below. With sheer brute strength, he pushed against the metal. The muscles in his back and shoulders protested,but he felt a slight shift in the weight of the metal. With sheer determination, he kept shoving until he felt a sudden give and the metal slid to one side. Starsky collapsed on the top mattress, breathing heavily and trying to catch his breath.

He felt the mattress dip as Kiko appeared beside him.

"Are you okay?"

Starsky nodded, still too breathless to reply. Kiko examined the metal covering and said in an excited voice, "I think if we both push, we can get it open."

Starsky nodded. "Give me a minute.'

After a few more minutes of rest, Starsky was able to join Kiko in his attempts to free them from the trailer. With some effort, the metal finally slid to one side, exposing the opening and their escape route to the outside. With all the noise they had been making trying to escape, it was obvious that their captors were nowhere close by. But Starsky still proceeded with caution.

Signaling with his hand for Kiko to stay down and out of sight, Starsky carefully raised up so he could squeeze his shoulders through the opening and look around. It was dark out, but the moon was shining brightly enough for him to see his surroundings. All he could see was piles of rocks and hard packed ground with patches of overgrown grass and weeds.

Slipping back through the opening he told Kiko, "Gather up the others, and have them come up one at the time, send a few of the older ones first and then the little ones. We need to get out of here while we can."

Kiki nodded and climbed down to follow Starsky's instructions. Within a few minutes two of the older boys and two of the girls joined Starsky. Starsky helped them climb through the opening to freedom, then turned to assist the other children as they slowly made their way out of the hole that their captors had put them in. Starsky was the last to leave their buried prison.

He gathered the children close and said, "Okay, we're gonna get out of here. Stay together, and stay as quiet as you can. I don't know how far we're going to have to go before we find help, but you older ones be ready to help the little ones. Some of them may need to be carried when they get tired." The older teenagers nodded to show that they understood. Slowly, the tiny group of captives began walking towards the east.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After two hours of sorting through the juvenile records provided by Sheriff Griffith, Hutch had narrowed it down to eight names of possible suspects. Two of them were cousins, two of them were brothers, the rest were unrelated but knew the other boys.

Griffith offered his opinion.

"I'd say your most likely suspects would be Kevin Dixson and his brother, Scott. And they pal around with Larry Cox and Tony Grayson. The four of them have been in trouble for knocking over mailboxes, vandalism and that sort of thing. Mostly little stuff, nothing major that I know of. But, Larry Cox has a temper and has come close to being charged with assault a couple of times, and all four boys know how to shoot a gun. Hunting is sort of a pastime around here."

"Where can we find these pillars of the community?"

"Larry sort of drifts from place to place, but Tony lives just down the road from Kevin and Scott. Their dad owns the local stone quarry just west of town."

"We need to bring them in and talk to all of them."

"I'll send a couple of deputies out to see if they can locate them and bring them in the station."

As Griffith walked away, Linda said quietly, "Do you think you're on the right track?"

"I hope so," Hutch said in a worried voice "Starsky and those kids may not have much time left."

"Why not?"

"One of the kidnappers has already shown that he has a short fuse. If anything goes wrong, he's liable to shoot first and not ask any questions."

"You mean if he feels cornered?"

"Or if one of the hostages saw his face and he thought that one of them could identify him."

"Like your partner."

"Yeah, like my partner."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Three of the suspects were located without any problem and brought to police headquarters. The fourth suspect, Larry Cox, could not be found at any of his usual hangouts.

After studying the files on the four suspects, Hutch had concluded that Tony Grayson, the youngest of the four suspects and the only one who had never really been in trouble, would be the most likely to crack during an interrogation.

With that in mind, he had the teenager put into an interrogation room and then let him sit there by himself for almost forty-five minutes before opening the door and joining him. According to his file, Tony was sixteen, but he looked much younger. His face was still padded with baby fat, and his big, blue eyes still held a look of innocence that hadn't yet been eroded by time and experience. His neatly trimmed blond hair hung to his shoulders. His clothes were clean, but faded with a rip in the knee of his jeans. He looked like any other teenager that Hutch saw every day out on the streets.

"When can I go home?" Tony's show of bravado was belied by the gleam of unshed tears in the corner of his eyes.

"When I say so," Hutch said in a stern voice as he sat down across from the obviously uncomfortable and frightened youth.

"Maybe I should call my parents…" Tony said in a slightly wavering voice as he looked at Hutch and realized that he was not one of the familiar, local police officers.

"You can call them later. First you and I are going to have a little chat. I'm Detective Hutchinson and I'm from Bay City…" He paused to let his words sink in before adding, "And you, young man...are in a whole lot of trouble."

"Why? I didn't do nothing." Tony struggled to keep up a brave front even as he refused to meet Hutch's steady gaze.

"No? How about kidnapping and false imprisonment for starters," Hutch said in a deceptively quiet tone. "And…oh, did I forget to mention…abduction of a police officer?"

"A cop? What cop?" Tony's voice raised two octaves, and beads of sweat broke out on his brow. "There wasn't no cop on that bus…." He stopped abruptly as he realized the admission he had just made.

"Oh, but there was…" Hutch's smile never reached his eyes "My partner, Detective David Starsky. And you never mess with a man's partner…not if you know what's good for you."

"It wasn't my idea!' Tony declared, tears falling down his cheeks as he stumbled over his words. "It was all Larry and Kevin's idea. They said we could make us some quick money and nobody would get hurt."

"What about the driver of the bus?" Hutch said in a cold, hard voice. "Would you like to tell his widow that nobody was supposed to get hurt?"

"That was Larry…I swear it was! All I did was drive the van."

"That adds murder one to the charges. In California that can get you the death penalty if the court decides to try you as an adult."

Tony began to cry in earnest. "Please….I don't want to go to jail. I'll do anything you want…"

"Tell me where they are."

"They're at the old quarry. Larry and Kevin found this junk semi-trailer and got the idea to bury it out there. That's where they are." Tony looked at Hutch with pleading eyes. "Nobody's hurt…they're all okay…I swear they are…"

"You'd better hope they are," Hutch warned him as he rose to his feet and walked to the door in one fluid motion. Someone else could deal with the rest of the interrogation and the search for the fourth suspect. He had a partner to rescue.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The tiny group of former prisoners walked at a slow but steady pace over the hard packed ground. Starsky ignored the pain in his bruised feet as he stepped on sharp stones and rocks that littered the ground. Some of the younger children started crying from fear and exhaustion, and they were picked up by the older children who carried them without complaint. They were all just glad to be free from their prison and relatively safe from any further harm.

The sun was coming over the horizon when Kiko suddenly pointed and shouted in an excited voice, "There's a road!"

But, his excitement was cut short by a sudden yelp of pain from behind him. He turned in time to see Starsky fall to his knees. From the corner of his eye he saw a snake slithering away into a tangle of sagebrush.

"Starsky!" he called out in alarm as he knelt at his friend's side. "Are you okay?"

"No," Starsky said quietly with a grim shake of his head. "It bit me. Don't say anything. I don't want to scare the other kids."

"What can I do?"

"You'll have to take the kids and go on without me. Find help…"

"I can't just leave you here!' Kiko sounded like the scared teenager that he was.

"You have to," Starsky told him firmly. "I can't walk on my leg…it'll spread the poison faster if I do. You have to get help and get these kids to safety." He grasped Kiko's hand and squeezed tightly, his eyes silently pleading with him to do as he said.

Swallowing hard against the lump in his throat, Kiko nodded. "Okay…but I'll be back as soon as I get some help."

Starsky nodded, and a silent look of understanding passed between the two. Starsky didn't have much time before it would be too late to stop the poison circulating in his system.

Kiko got to his feet and squared his shoulders with determination. He met Starsky's gaze one more time. "I'll be back with help. I promise."

Turning his attention to the group of children, he began herding them towards the road in the distance.

"Wait!" one of the younger girls said. "What about Mr. Dave?" She looked back at Starsky whom she instinctively trusted and looked to for reassurance.

Kiko didn't miss a beat. "Mr. Dave hurt his leg. It hurts him to walk on it, so we're going to go find some help and then come back for him." He glanced at some of the older children as he spoke. The expression on their faces told him that they knew the truth.

She nodded, easily accepting the explanation. She ran to Starsky's side and hugged his neck tightly. "It'll be okay, Mr. Dave," She said with a lisp. "We'll find help and be back soon."

"That's a good girl, Kimmie," Starsky told her. "Now, go with Kiko and do what he tells you."

He watched as she obediently ran back to Kiko's side and took his hand. As grim as his situation was, Starsky smiled as he watched the group of children move away from him. He couldn't help but be proud of the young man Kiko had become. Hutch had done a great job, with a little help from his friend.

Hutch. Starsky took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I know you're looking for us partner," he said aloud. "And I know you'll find me." He lay back on the hard ground and closed his eyes, trying to relax as much as possible. He concentrated on taking slow, deep breaths, keeping his heart rate steady and calm. All he could do now was wait and hope that help would arrive in time.


	7. NOTE TO READERS

Note to readers:

I hoped to have the last two chapters done but RL had other plans. I had to have surgery on my right hand (and I am right handed) When it heals, they are operating on the left one. So,it may be a couple weeks before any more chapters are posted to this story. I apologize for the delay


	8. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

**A/N: Okay, going to try and get this chapter posted before they do the surgery on my left hand. My right hand is healing but it is still really sore but the doctor said it was okay to use my laptop and that typing was actually good exercise for my fingers.**

Starsky opened his eyes with a startled jerk. Drowsy from the poison seeping through his system, he struggled to stay awake. He could feel a creeping tightening in his chest and numbness in his legs. He was feverish and his heart was pounding in his ears. He tried to remember what he had learned in first aid about snake bites. He knew that the anti-venom had to be administered within a certain time period or it wouldn't do any good. Trouble was he couldn't remember the time frame. His only hope was that Kiko would find some help before it was too late.

A crunching of stones behind him forced Starsky to look around. A young man with closely trimmed brown hair and cold gray-blue eyes sneered back at him, but it was the gun he held in his hand that claimed Starsky's attention.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A toe nudged Starsky's side hard enough to make him grunt. "I see you got out. I guess I underestimated you." Even without the mask, Starsky recognized the voice. It was Dumbass one. His face hardened, and he sneered again. "But, it looks like they left you here all by your lonesome. Just you and me."

"You'll never get away with it now. The kids are safe. You've lost whatever leverage you had."

"I still have you. You must be worth something to somebody."

"Kid, you don't know how wrong you are." Starsky's words were starting to slur and it was getting harder to keep his eyes open. But he knew that staying conscious was vital, and he struggled to keep his wits about him.

"We'll see about that." He crouched down on one knee and examined Starsky's pale, sweaty face. "Or maybe I'll just sit here and watch you die. It should be a good show. I never saw anybody die before."

"What about the bus driver?"

"That was different. I didn't like the way he kept looking at me."

"It's still murder one. That means the death penalty in the state of California."

"So then I guess I don't have nothing to lose by killing you, do I?" His mouth twisted into a thin smile as he pressed the barrel of the gun against Starsky's temple and cocked the hammer. Starsky flinched as the hammer fell on an empty chamber with a loud click. His captor chuckled coldly. "Oops…guess I forgot to load one in the chamber."

Starsky took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he willed his heart to stop pounding. The last thing he needed right now was a sadistic punk with a gun who liked to play games. He could feel a cold numbness spreading through his body and he knew that he didn't have much time left if he didn't get to a hospital soon.

"Look, kid…you're in enough trouble as it is. Why don't you just get away while you can? I'm a goner anyway…that damn snake made sure of that."

The younger man seemed to be thinking it over. Then he smiled and said, "Naw, I'd rather just sit right here and watch you die."

"Terrific…" Starsky muttered. He could feel death closing in around him. But it wouldn't come easy. He would go out fighting with everything he had in him to stay.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Stop the car!" Hutch yelled as the deputy roared around a curve in the road. Not far ahead, a raggedly looking group of children was trudging down the road towards them.

The deputy barely had time to brake to a halt before Hutch was out of the door and racing towards the Hispanic youth leading the group.

"Hutch!" Kiko yelled happily as he broke into a run, throwing himself into his 'big brother's' arms. He buried his face against a broad shoulder and finally let his tears fall.

Hutch gripped Kiko's shoulders and gently but firmly forced the youth to look at him. "Starsky? Where's Starsky?"

"A snake bit him," Kiko choked out past his tears. "He made us leave him to find help."

"Where is he?" Hutch demanded anxiously.

"I don't know. It seems like we've been walking forever."

Turning to the deputy, Hutch ordered, "Call for back up to get these kids back to the camp. I'm taking your car to find my partner."

The deputy nodded and reached for the mike to do as he was instructed. Hutch turned his attention back to Kiko and said, "You did the right thing. Now, you're going to go with me and we're going to go get Starsky." Kiko nodded. He knew everything would be okay now. Hutch was here. He would know what to do to make things right again.


	9. Chapter 8 New

**CHAPTER 8**

**A/N: Right hand healing nicely. Surgery on left hand scheduled for April 3****rd****. Will try not to be in the middle of posting anything for that two week period. **

Hutch drove slowly back along the road while Kiko stared out the windshield at the surrounding terrain. He was trying hard to find something he could recognize from his hike with the other children. But, everything looked the same, and he had no idea how far the group of former hostages had walked before they had been found.

"Does anything look familiar?" Hutch's question broke the youth's concentration.

Kiko shook his head in frustration. "No, it all looks the same. All I know is, we walked for a long time before we saw you, maybe an hour or more." He looked at Hutch with worried eyes. "Do you think Uncle Dave is okay?"

"I hope so. As long as he stays still and doesn't try to move around too much, he should be okay for a couple of hours."

"You mean before it's too late…" Kiko's voice broke.

"It all depends on what kind of snake it was and how much poison it injected." Hutch smiled at the teenager in an effort to ease his troubled mind. "Don't beat yourself up for leaving him. That's what he wanted. You got the rest of those kids to safety, and that's what matters."

"I was so scared." Kiko admitted. "But, I knew that Uncle Dave needed my help."

"You did good." Hutch reached over and squeezed Kiko's arm. The boy he had taken under his wing was growing into a mature, responsible young man, and Hutch couldn't help but be proud of him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Larry Cox crouched in the dirt, staring at the unconscious man lying on the ground in front of him. Starsky had drifted into unconsciousness and showed no signs of waking up any time soon. This was getting boring.

Larry stood and studied the darkening sky. A storm was moving in from the south. He should get going before it hit and before the police started closing in on his location.

The cops didn't scare Larry. He'd been in trouble since he was caught egging a neighbor's car when he was eight. Over the years, he had graduated to shop lifting, bullying other kids, and a few little escapades nobody knew about, including raping a girl from another town after beating her into submission. He knew how to play the innocent victim. and it usually worked, especially with his mom. Talking his way out of trouble was just part of the game, and nothing ever ended up being his fault.

He sighed heavily as he thought about his elaborate plan to make some big bucks. He had planned the job for months, down to the last detail. Getting those other two morons to go along with it had been easy, but it had been a real bitch burying that damn trailer and setting it up to hold their hostages for a few days. He couldn't help but grin. This whole abduction scene had given him a massive hard-on and the biggest rush of his life.

Unfortunately, that adrenaline rush was the reason he now had a murder charge hanging over his head. Killing that stupid driver had never been part of the plan, but like he told his former hostage, he didn't like the way he was looking at him, and that was true, at least in part. The rest of it was that the driver looked a lot like the prick his alcoholic mother married. Larry had only been three then. He didn't remember his real father, didn't know who his real father was, and doubted if his mother did either. For all he knew, it was just in his genes to be bad.

Unconsciously, he shook his head. Now his plan to make some money was a bust. The hostages had escaped and were probably with the cops right now. He knew that his cohorts in the crime would turn on him in a heartbeat if it meant saving their own worthless skins. And he didn't begrudge them that. It's what he would do if he was in their shoes.

The wind was picking up, now. The storm was moving in fast. He really should get moving. His car was hidden close by, along with enough money to start a new life in Mexico. He had no regrets about leaving everything behind. He felt nothing for his mother and the bastard she was married to, and that town was a little cesspool with no future. He was destined for bigger and better things. Hell, he could be even bigger then his idol, James Gunther. He knew that he was smart enough not to make the same mistakes that Gunther had made in his old age.

He eyed the man on the ground with a scowl. Everything was this prick's fault. Except for him, the hostages were just a bunch of snot-nosed kids, so he had to be the one who figured out how to escape. If it weren't for this bastard, the plan would have gone off without a hitch, and those idiots, Dixson and Grayson, would be in jail, and he'd be rolling in dough.

He could at least have the satisfaction of putting a bullet in Starsky's head before moving on. He smiled thinly as he raised the gun and pressed the barrel firmly against the man's temple. His finger tightened on the trigger and a shot rang out just as a flash of lightening from the approaching storm lit up the darkening sky.


	10. Chapter 9 New

**CHAPTER 9**

"_Where am I?" Starsky thought as he looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He was in a large, green field with patches of wild flowers scattered here and there. He seemed to be alone, and yet he had the eerie feeling of being watched. He opened his mouth to call out to whoever was there, but no sound came from his parched throat. _

_His heart pounded with a sudden burst of adrenaline as a mist abruptly__appeared before him and slowly materialized into the figure of a man. A man Starsky knew well from his childhood. _

"_Pop?" Starsky's lips silently formed the word as he looked into the older man's face, a face that bore an uncanny resemblance to his own. Even though he knew he hadn't spoken the name aloud, the figure smiled._

"_Hello, son." _

_His father's lips never moved, but his voice was loud and clear in Starsky's mind. It was just as he remembered, and the mere sound of it after so many years brought tears to his eyes._

"_Pop…" Starsky thought again, automatically reaching out to embrace the father he had lost when he was only twelve years old. He__was shocked when his hand passed through his father's body._

_Michael Starsky shook his head with a sad smile. "We can't touch each other…neither one of us is actually here."_

"_I don't understand…" His father's words made no sense to Starsky. The man was standing__before him, as real as anyone could be. _

"_I'm with Bubbe Starsky and the rest of our family." _

"_Then where am I?" Starsky asked in a confused voice. "Am I dead?"_

"_No…but, you're not really alive either…that's a choice __you__ have to make." _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You can choose to stay with me…or you go back to your life as it was before…"_

"_I'm here too, David…to help you choose," said a soft, tender voice behind him. A familiar voice that made Starsky's heart beat faster in his chest. He slowly turned around to look into the eyes of the only woman he had ever loved enough to ask to marry him. The woman he had wanted to be the mother of his children. The woman he still loved with all of his heart._

"_Terry…" Even thinking her name was enough to make his heart ache with her loss. _

"_Yes, my darling." She__smiled that sweet smile that had melted his heart the first time he saw it. "I told you I;d always be there when you needed me."_

"_If I stay…I can be with you?"_

"_Yes…but if you stay you'll have to leave Hutch," she reminded him quietly. "And he'll blame himself for not finding you in time." _

"_I can't leave him…"He__choked, heartbroken at the choice before him. "But, I don't want to leave either of you…"_

"_Only you can make the choice to live or to die…" His father said softly. "Choose carefully, Davie. If you go back, you still have a lot__to accomplish in your life…you and Hutch. And if you stay with us, you'll have eternal happiness and peace. No more sorrow, no more grief, no more responsibilities." He sighed. "It's a hard choice, and the truth is, it'll hurt, no matter which you choose."_

"_Let's take a walk." Terry suggested. _

_Starsky followed her without a second thought. __She walked__ a short distance and sank gracefully to the ground by a patch of wild flowers, gesturing for him to do the same._

"_I've missed you…" Starsky sat beside her and drank in the beauty of her face._

"_I never really left you."_

"_I didn't get__the chance to tell you how much I loved you…"_

"_You didn't have to. I knew."_

"_It still hurts so damn bad…"_

"_I'm sorry I wasn't given the choice you have. But, I knew you'd be okay as long as you had Hutch."_

"_I would have given up if it hadn't been for Hutch."_

"_Yes,__Hutch has saved you more than once and in more ways than you realize. This time he can't save you…you have to__save yourself."_

"_How am I supposed to do that? All I want is to stay here with you…"_

"_I know. Just remember, no matter what you choose, we __will__ be together again." She stood__and motioned for Starsky to do the same. They slowly walked back to where Michael Starsky patiently waited. _


End file.
